In support of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department announced in October new funding to evaluate the most promising technology paths toward achieving $2 to $4 per gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) of hydrogen fuel or less by 2020. The funding will assist in the Department's broader efforts to give drivers and businesses more options and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil.

To help meet this aggressive goal by 2020, the projects selected through this program will help identify cost-effective and efficient materials and processes to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and natural gas. These projects will also analyze production and delivery technologies to identify key technical challenges and priorities and continue to evaluate technical progress and hydrogen cost status.

This effort will include annual analyses of key technology challenges using the Energy Department's Hydrogen Analysis models (H2A) in addition to other industry tools. This work will help determine cost and performance improvements resulting from technology advancements, illustrate cost estimate ranges, and identify areas for further cost reductions. The analyses will focus on a range of methods for producing hydrogen fuel, which could include: distributed production of hydrogen from biomass-derived renewable liquids; distributed, semi-central and central water electrolysis; solar high-temperature water splitting; photoelectrochemical water splitting; and large-scale central hydrogen production through photolytic, fermentation, and microbial electrolysis.

Up to $1 million will be made available for up to two projects over 3-4 years. More information, application requirements, and instructions can be found on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange website. Applications are due November 13, 2012.